Charlotte's punk scene lost a big chunk of its soul this morning with the
death of Chris Peigler. Peigler's support of local music and the punk scene, specifically, was practically unparalleled. He was a musician, a fan, and a friend.
Peigler died earlier today at the hospital. Peigler had struggled with
kidney disease for the last four years, but his passing shocked the local music
community. He may have had health problems, but his light and general
enthusiasm for life and passion for music never wavered. It's something
many friends have noted on his Facebook page today.
I met Chris in the late `90s while he was fronting My
So-Called Band. He later went on to form the Rogue Nations, but even before I
moved to Charlotte in the mid `90s he was a fixture of the local punk scene. We
bonded over riot grrl and female-fronted punk bands. From Bikini Kill to Naked
Aggression to the Eyeliners and Dollyrots - I can't think of anyone that shared
my very specific passion for feminist, female-fronted punk and that was as excited
to discuss it.
But Chris wasn't just passionate about riot grrrl, he was
passionate about punk rock and he was a lifer. While fans often abandon their
interest in punk as they age, Peigler didn't. He still wore his leather jacket
and packed the annual Punk Rock Picnic at Tremont well into what I'm told were
his fifties. It was really hard to tell with his youthful energy how old he was. He was also
supportive of young up and coming bands, which many folks have noted online. I
remember more than a few new bands Chris would urge me to check out. Some of
them could even be pretty bad at first, but a lot of those kids stuck with it
and got really good.
He first told me about his health problems during a show at
the Milestone a few years ago. Over the last year we emailed back and forth about the medical roller coaster he seemed to be on. I'd proposed doing a
story about it, because it was unusual. While blood tests suggested he suffered
from kidney disease and was in need of a transplant, he didn't exhibit symptoms
or feel bad. He explored alternative medicine and acupuncture, which seemed to help but didn't change his test results.
The last time we spoke was in September when he emailed me
about Kathleen Hanna's band Julie Ruin playing "Late Night with Jimmy
Fallon." There were new developments about his diagnosis and he was very
hopeful.
As news of his death spread today, generations of Charlotte
music folks have posted about Peigler's warmth and generosity. Those posts come
from musicians in their fifties that knew Chris in the `80s to punk kids he
probably met a few months ago. The sentiment is always the same - the guy that
would greet you with a smile, maybe a hug, and wanted to talk music.
From what I hear Peigler was the same genial person at work.
"He was well liked and respected around the office for
very much the same reasons he was a hero to the Charlotte music
community," says Peigler's former co-worker Jamie Sheats.
"He would have done anything to help you if he could."
There's talk of Peigler's beloved punk community
paying tribute to him at a
benefit concert at Tremont in the coming weeks. I'll
post more details on that as they become available.(Photo from Peigler's Facebook page)
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